[Long-term diabetes--a special form of diabetes]

Two hundred and eight long-term diabetics from the diabetic population of one district were examined thoroughly by physicians of the several special branches and compared with a control group consisting of biostatic twins with a healthy metabolism. Case control was performed for 5 years. The frequent absence of pathological findings in the coronary, peripheric and cerebral regions as well as a significantly high percentage of standard weight and underweight were found to be characteristic signs in that patients who survived their diabetes for several tens of years. Five years after the first registration, 68 long-term diabetics and 23 subjects of the control group had been died. However, the excess mortality does not surpass the mortality of subjects diseased for a short period. Besides the age and the duration of the manifestation, the survival rate was found to be dependent on the degree of the micro- and macroangiopathies, hypertension and over-weight. On the other hand, the duration of the diabetes and the metabolic condition did not exert any perceptible influence.